KRUGMAN: Greece's 'no' vote is a win for Europe

Greece has
voted a resounding "no" in its referendum on whether to
accept the latest bailout proposal from its European creditors.

And for New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, a Nobel laureate,
this is a win for all of Europe.

"Tsipras and Syriza have won big in the referendum,"
Krugman wrote on Sunday, "strengthening their hand for
whatever comes next."

"But they're not the only winners," he added. "I would
argue that Europe, and the European idea, just won big — at least
in the sense of dodging a bullet."

Krugman,
who last week wrote that he would vote "no" if he were voting
in the referendum, argued in his post on Sunday that Greece's
vote against the bailout program Greece's creditors were
seeking to impose on it strengthened the case for democracy in
Europe.

Krugman writes: "We have just witnessed Greece stand up to a
truly vile campaign of bullying and intimidation, an attempt to
scare the Greek public, not just into accepting creditor demands,
but into getting rid of their government. It was a shameful
moment in modern European history, and would have set a truly
ugly precedent if it had succeeded."

And so with the Greek people shooting down the vision that
other Europeans had for their economy and
future prospects, Krugman believes that all Europeans — as voters
and participants in democracy — won on Sunday.

As for whether this means Greece will leave the euro, Krugman
said that there was a decent case for a so-called Grexit but that
no matter whether Greece stays or goes, Sunday's vote showed that
"democracy matters more than any currency arrangement."